I-Team: ER Visits Tied to Xanax, Similar Drugs Soar in NYC

Dr. Jeff Rabrich, who directs the Emergency Medicine Department at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, said he often sees the negative effects of illegal narcotics exacerbated by benzodiazepines.

“The Xanax potentially makes it a much worse overdose. It could turn a relatively mild overdose into something that could be fatal,” said Dr. Rabrich.

“A history of abuse of other substances, both licit and illicit, is associated with a higher prevalence of benzodiazepine abuse, a greater euphoric response to benzodiazepines, and a higher rate of unauthorized use of alprazolam during treatment for panic disorder.”